Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is a statutory authority of the New South Wales Government that was created on 1 November 2011 to manage the transport services in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is the leading transport agency of the state. The authority is a separate entity from the New South Wales Department of Transport, the ultimate parent entity of Transport for NSW[1]

Transport for NSW contracted the Sydney ferry services to Harbour City Ferries in 2011, who started operations in 2012. Transport for NSW continues to own the ferry fleet and the Balmain shipyard through its division "Sydney Ferries".[10] This division is not to be confused with the branding of ferries in Sydney, which also uses the brand "Sydney Ferries".

Transport for NSW established the "MTS Holding Company" on 12 March 2012, and through the holding company, purchased Metro Transport Sydney, the owner of the Sydney Light Rail and the Sydney Monorail, on 23 March 2012 for $19.8 million.[10] The company, light rail and the monorail also became under control of Transport for NSW and the government.[12] The Sydney Monorail was closed down on 1 July 2013, and on the same day, the Metro Light Rail brand was phased out as part of a broader rebranding and reorganisation of public transport services in New South Wales.[13] The light rail also became under direct ownership of Transport for NSW.[14][15] The process of shutting down Metro Transport Sydney and transferring assets to Transport for NSW was completed in September 2014 with the deregistration of MTS Holding Company.[16][17]

Operation and maintenance functions of RailCorp were passed on to two newly-formed government agencies, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains in July 2013, initially as subsidiaries of RailCorp. However, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains are not controlled entities of Railcorp, but are instead controlled by Transport for NSW.[18] The suburban services of CityRail (also a part of RailCorp) were transferred to Sydney Trains, while CountryLink (also a part of RailCorp) and the intercity services of CityRail were passed on to NSW Trains, trading as NSW TrainLink. As a result, CityRail and CountryLink were abolished.

In July 2017, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains became independent and standalone agencies under Transport for NSW, and ceased to be subsidiaries of RailCorp.[19][20] At the same time, the Residual Transport Corporation (RTC) was formed. RailCorp continues to exist as the railway asset owner, but it will be converted into a state-owned corporation and renamed "Transport Asset Holding Entity" (TAHE) on 1 July 2019.[21][22][23] The RTC will then own assets that are not suitable for TAHE ownership.[19]

In July 2018, the Sydney Metro Delivery Office, which was formed in 2011, was converted into a standalone Sydney Metro operating agency under Transport for NSW, similar to Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.[24]

The authority develops regulations, policies and legislation to ensure that transport is delivered to a high standard, meets community needs, protects assets and public money, minimises environmental impact, and ensures the community is safe. The authority manages an annual multibillion-dollar transport budget and in partnership with the transport operating agencies manages more than A$106 billion in property, plant and equipment assets. Funding is provided for bus, rail, light rail, roads, ferry and community transport services and related infrastructure. The authority also funds concession schemes such as the School Student Transport Scheme, the Private Vehicle Conveyance Scheme and the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme.[1]

The NSW Department of Transport comprises all the following entities:[26]

Transport Service of New South Wales

Transport for NSW and its divisions

Transport Service of NSW is an agency created in November 2011, in charge of employing staff for Transport for NSW, which cannot directly employ staff, to undertake its functions. The Transport Service also directly employs staff for Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), State Transit Authority (STA), as well as senior executives of Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.[27]

Transport for NSW is introducing unified signage and wayfinding across its network. These T (train) and L (light rail) signs identify the transport modes available from Central station.

Transport for NSW directly manages most train, bus, ferry and light rail services in New South Wales. The authority manages the route design, timetabling and branding of these services and also provides passenger information via printed material, a telephone service and a website.[38] Operation of the services is contracted out to a mixture of other government-owned organisations and private enterprise.[39]

Transport for NSW public transport services are simply branded Transport. The following sub-brands are used depending on the type of service:

Passengers made 676 million public transport journeys in the 2015-16 financial year.[40] Patronage on the Sydney rail network increased during this period–customer patronage grew by 10.5 per cent, while intercity patronage grew by 11 per cent.[41][42]

Transport for NSW provides a trip planner and transport service information on its customer service website, www.transportnsw.info, and via its 24-hour information line, 131500.[38] These services, outsourced to Serco since July 2010, were previously known as the Transport InfoLine or simply 131500.[43] A parallel Teletype service for hearing and speech impaired passengers is available on 1800 637 500.